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Supreme Court calls on Centre to fix law on social media accounts of minors: 'How can 12-13 year olds be allowed?'
The court told the Centre to remedy the situation within its statutory framework; otherwise, a direction from the court would follow.
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The Supreme Court on Monday said that social media intermediaries allowing minors to open accounts must conform to the law of the land, telling the Centre to remedy the situation within its statutory framework; otherwise, a direction from the court would follow.
A bench headed by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) passed the order while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by the non-profit organisation Just Rights for Children Alliance (JRCA).
The petition underlined the need for safeguards to be put in place to ensure minors are not allowed to open or operate accounts on Twitter, Instagram, etc.
“How can these platforms allow 12 to 13 year olds to have accounts? It is contrary to the law of the land,” said the bench, also comprising justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana. The court was referring to the Indian Contract Act, which declares a minor’s consent for an agreement to be “void” from the time such an agreement comes into existence.
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Solicitor general Tushar Mehta appearing for the Centre, informed the court that the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023 does provide for some safeguards. He said, “ Something will have to be done. If a person is less than 18 years old, consent can be given by parents as there are educational apps that require the user’s consent.”
The bench told the Centre, “It is our request to the government of India. You pass some directions under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 so that these intermediaries fashion their software in conformity with Indian laws.”
Allowing time for the Centre to consider addressing the issue within the necessary statutory framework, the court observed, “On membership, they must invoke the minimum age of 18 years. Otherwise, we will be compelled to pass directions against the intermediaries.”
The petition argued by senior advocate HS Phoolka pointed out that exposing children to such an environment has unforeseeable risks including online grooming, sexual exploitation, trafficking, behavioural profiling, misuse of personal data, cyberbullying, exposure to age-inappropriate content and other harms affecting their safety, dignity, development and well-being.
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Mehta said that issuing guidelines won’t be enough as it should come with a statutory backing, and he sought time from the court to get back on this issue.
While issuing notice on the petition on September 10, the court had observed, “There is a need for some safeguards in India. Some firewalls are necessary for protecting our children.”
The petition said that opening an account on social media or digital platforms requires children to accept terms of service, user agreement, privacy policies, etc and this cannot be permitted when the law in the country does not recognise the right of a person below 18 years to enter any contract.
The petition pointed out that the DPDP Act, 2023 recognises the special vulnerability of children and requires verifiable parental or guardian consent for processing a child’s personal data. Even the 2021 Intermediary Rules are silent on the contractual capacity of a minor to access and use the services of social media intermediaries or digital platforms.
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This statutory gap prevents prohibiting a child from opening or maintaining a social media account, the petition claimed, requiring the Centre to step in and declare all such accounts opened by children void.
It further required the court to direct that until necessary guidelines are framed in this regard under the 2021 Rules, digital platforms should be restrained from allowing a minor under 18 years to open an account.
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